BEST TEACHERS RECEIVE AWARDS IN SUNYANI (NSEMPA, PAGES 8 & 9)

By Akwasi Ampratwum-Mensah-Samuel Duodu, Sunyani

HUNDREDS of people from various parts of the country converged at the Sunyani Jubilee Park in the Brong Ahafo Region last Tuesday to witness the 14th edition of the National Best Teacher Awards ceremony, where 42-year-old Mr Sadique Boateng, an Integrated Science and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) teacher of the T.I. Ahmadiyaa Senior High School (SHS) in Kumasi, emerged the Overall Best Teacher for 2008.
Winner
Mr Boateng, who is currently pursuing a Masters degree in ICT at the University of Cape Coast in the Central Region, received a cheque for GH¢60,000 to be used for the construction of a house at a place of his choice, while the first runner-up, Madam Magdalene Mensah, 48, a French teacher at the Opoku Ware SHS, also in Kumasi, was presented with a Nissan Pick-up vehicle, a computer and its accessories.
Madam Alice Dzifa Gligui Denueme, 40, who is the Head of Department of Home Economics at the Awudome SHS at Tsito in the Volta Region, received a Nissan Sunny Saloon car valued at $18,000 plus a computer and its accessories.
As early as 7.00a.m. on the day, people from all walks of life had started arriving to witness the ceremony, which was instituted by the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) to bestow honours on teachers for their hard work, commitment and dedication to their profession.
Before converging on the park, members of the GNAT from various parts of the country went on a float through the principal streets of Sunyani, while dancing to tunes provided by a brass band.
Among the large audience were Members of the Council of State, Ministers of State, Members of Parliament (MPs), Municipal and District Chief Executives, the Clergy, retired educationists, regional and district Directors of Education, heads of educational institutions, traditional authorities, heads of the various security agencies, schoolchildren and students.
Also present were the Tanokrom Agoromaa of the Sunyani Centre for National Culture and other traditional drummers, as well as the Sunyani SHS Choir, which entertained the crowd with some thrilling performances while waiting for the arrival of President J.A. Kufuor, the guest of honour.

Patience
Having waited patiently over three hours, President Kufuor and his entourage arrived at the venue to a standing ovation amidst drumming as he went round the park to exchange pleasantries with the people.
In all, a total of 92 teachers, workers of the Ghana Education Service (GES), as well as foreign volunteers, National Service personnel and retire teachers from the host region who had distinguished themselves were honoured.
The awardees were presented with sets of computers, gas cookers, double and single-door fridges, native carvings, artifacts, certificates, ghetto blasters plus cash prizes.
The GNAT also used the occasion to present school bags containing school uniforms, exercise books and shoes to 20 needy pupils selected from two deprived communities, namely Nkrankrom in the Sunyani Municipality and Ashiayem in the Tano North District of the Brong Ahafo Region.
The Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) was the major sponsor of the event while the MTN Ghana Foundation provided the prize for the 2nd runner-up.
Other sponsors were SEDCO/Longman, Ultimate Supplies Limited, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the French Embassy.
In a brief interview with newsmen, the Overall Best Teacher, Mr Boateng, said he was very happy to be the winner of the 2008 Overall Best National Teacher award.
According to him, he had received several offers with juicy conditions of service from financial institutions to work with them, but had turned down all those offers since he was committed to teaching.
Okatakyie Agyeman Kodom IV, President of the Brong Ahafo House of Chiefs and the Omanhene of the Nkoranza Traditional Area, who advised awardees to put in their best in the ensuing years, chaired the function.

Computers
Addressing the gathering, President J.A. Kufuor announced that all school children between the ages of five and 12 in public schools would be provided with personnel computers by the government soon.
He said the computers, designed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States of America (USA), would enable the children to acquire knowledge in ICT, which is currently the most critical basic instrument of education worldwide.
The President disclosed further that the deal for the supply of the computers was negotiated by the late Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, two years ago.
To acknowledge the role the late minister played, the project would be called “Baah-Wiredu’s Computer a child” in his memory.
President Kufuor further announced that the first batch of 10,000 units of what he described as “Magic Computers for Children” would soon arrive in the country in fulfilment of the government’s promise.
The President said “Baah-Wiredu, was assigned the responsibility two years ago, to negotiate with MIT, the creators of this machine, to supply all children of Ghana. Rather tragically and sadly, the very day the producers came to present a sample of the wonder machine to me in New York two weeks ago, was when news of the minister’s demise reached me and here is the sample which I brought to show you”.
Happily, the President noted that, the emphasis placed on ICT in the educational reform was beginning to show the needed encouragement to make ICT user-friendly. Likewise, technical schools and the science resource centres in the 10 regional capitals were also being rehabilitated and resourced to give school leavers, the rounded education, that the global market demanded.